Obby "The Rat"
Obby is Ratfolk, born and raised in Name Here, a city that would not have him in Isteroth, a country that did not want him. Ratfolk families in Name Here were few and not taken well to. Obby's family lived in a small home in the Annex, a portion of the city relegated to the poor and homeless. Their den was carved from the rocks and dirt beneath a popular(imfamous) tavern and lay directly adjacent to the sewers to allow for a swift escape. His parents, Solovet and Ghex, were active members in the Alliance of Fangs, a relatively peaceful movement whose goal was establishing rights and equality for the 'lesser' races, namely those of the monstrous variety who were vilified by the predominantly human and elven community. His birth was a tragic one, as it marked the culling of the alliance and the death of his family. The night of his birth would come to be known as "The Extermination" and would set the tone of the nation's race relations for the next 2 decades. As his mother lay, exhausted and he and his siblings lay sleeping in a bed of straw, a meeting was being held across town. People were gathering in a particularly conservative tavern and, as drunk, toxically masculine racists so often do, they began yelling. The consensus seemed to be that the lizards and the rats were a blight on the city and the government refused to take care of them. "No honor in dancing with an untrained dancer" they would say. Someone needed to take care of the city's problem, it was their civic duty. 8 drunk, militant racists gathered what weapons they could find and set upon the town in the midst of a thunderstorm, murdering whatever Ratfolk, Orc, and Lizardfolk they encountered by cover of the driving rain. The storm hid their approach on Obby's home and it was not until the first torso squeezed through the tunnel entrance that Obby's father knew to react. He instructed Solovet to take the children out through the sewers while he held off the attackers. His father lasted only moments. His mother quickly discovered that the sewers, bloated with rainwater, were nearly unnavigatable. Acting purely on instinct, she lept into the flow and tried desperately to save her children. Obby was found nearly dead the next morning by a homeless man, Henson. Henson was locally famous for taking in orphans. His mother and three siblings washed out to sea and, to his knowledge, did not survive. The 8 murderers were issued proverbial slaps on the wrists and released, to the outrage of what remained of the Alliance of Fangs. Obby's childhood with Henson was not an easy one. As early as they can talk Henson sends his 'rats' about town, stealing what they can to survive and conning people out of what they can't outright steal. While he didn't have the silvered tongue that some of the human and elven orphans had, he had the quickest hands and became an adept at cleaning out stalls of their valuables. His stealth and wyliness earned him the moniker "Obby the Rat", though most assume it's because he's a 4-foot tall 90 pound rodent. Henson, while always kind and forthcoming, had business he conducted behind closed doors. Those he trusted and proved particularly useful were tested when they came of age. Those who passed were welcomed into an inner circle of sorts and offered work. Those who failed were set off to find their way in the world. The test itself was fairly simple, similar to a game the Henson's rats played amongst themselves. Those being tested were stripped of all their possessions and given a single gold piece. They were turned out into the city and told to both survive the week without outside help and to turn that gold piece into the most valuable thing they could. Obby was one of three tested when he came of age. He was at an obvious disadvantage because of his race, but he was determined to prove his worth. After a week in the city, Obby was confident he had done well. One of the other children presented an enormous pig, both prize-winning and valuable at the meat market. The second child produced a beautiful, gem-encrusted rapier he had stolen from a nobleman. When it came time for Obby to present his earnings, he gave a wry smile to Henson and turned the bag of holding he had stolen inside out. Out tumbled a wagon wheel, 4 short swords, a guard's shield, a beautiful Amerysian rug, a bag of firearm pellets, 7 golden statuettes, a gem-encrusted hand mirror, several potions, a bag of precious gems, Henson's key ring, an anvil, a signet ring bearing the symbol of Name Here's leadership, and a colorful parrot in a cage. Obby spent the entirety of his young adult life in Henson's inner circle. Henson, he was surprised to find out, was one of the leaders of the Luminaries, a shadow organization operating in Isteroth. Henson, or "The Mover" as he was known within the Luminaries, was in charge of the aquisition and redistribution of not-so-legal or stolen goods. Obby endeared himself to The Mover and quickly rose through the ranks to become his #2. Now in his 20's, Obby was asked to accompany the Mover on a particularly dangerous mission to clean out a warehouse owned by the Pinkertons, a production company famous for their work in firearm production. Obby and the Mover were nearly finished and on their way out when they encountered the majority of the town guard. The guard captain informed them that they had been set up by another member of the Luminaries but did not reveal who. The two escaped, amidst a hailstorm of bullets, through a second-story window into the river below. Laughing as he pulled himself to shore, he turned to say something to Henson and stopped cold. The man who raised him, the man who was not unlike a father to him, lay floating in the river, his blood swirling in the water around him. Obby collected what remained of their haul, let the current take Henson's body, and returned to their base of operations, a defunct church of Waukeen. He spread their haul across Henson's desk, only capable of doing something instinctual in his state of shock: taking stock. Most of what they had stolen had been gun parts and diagrams, with a few notes on metallurgy. In the right hands, one could definitely reverse-engineer a instrument of death. Being #2, he was promoted to leader of Henson's arm of the Luminaries. He chose 'The Rat' as his given name and didn't reveal his knowledge of Henson's assasination. Obby the Rat now manages the Luminaries' stolen assets He prefers to handle them on a personal basis leaving his number 2, a man named Horace, in charge. He has vowed, if only to himself, to find out who among the Luminaries is responsible for the Mover's assassination. Henson's spell-book in one hand, a pepperbox in the other, Obby strides forward, building his empire.